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City plan: Remove Lord Overpass

Vision puts streets at one level, makes area pedestrian-friendly

By Grant Welker, gwelker@lowellsun.com

Updated:
04/05/2016 07:11:20 AM EDT

A computer-generated image shows how the area of the Lord Overpass would appear with the land filled in to put all the streets at one level. Downtown is off to the left.
IMAGE COURTESY OF LOWELL DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

LOWELL -- The Lord Overpass, a 57-year-old rotary-like structure at a key gateway to the city's downtown, is obsolete and due for structural replacement.

City planners studying how to remake the overpass originally leaned toward a simple renovation but found that the same issues -- an unsightly structure and a dangerous area for both motorists and pedestrians -- would have remained.

A solution was recently found: dramatically overhaul the stretch of Thorndike Street by raising the street about 16 feet to make the intersection with Appleton, Chelmsford and Middlesex streets all at one level. The Big Fill, as it's being nicknamed, would eliminate the overpass, bringing the project in line with current planning trends that favor other modes of transportation, and not only cars.

"We're planning for the next 50 years, not five," said Diane Tradd, the city's director of planning and development.

The $15 million project is still a few years away from reality. The city expects to develop designs over the next two years, and then spend two or three years after that building the project.

The city will continue to collect feedback from residents over the next several months. The city's planning office sought input through a survey conducted by Claire Ricker, a project manager for Lowell.

Aside from making the overpass area more friendly to pedestrians or bicyclists, planners also found that an earlier design also didn't work quite right for what would become a front door to the Hamilton Canal Project just north of the overpass.

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For example, there would have been no direct access to the district from Thorndike Street to an extended Jackson Street. Instead, motorists coming from the Lowell Connector would have had to turn on to a ramp before the overpass.

For some visitors to Lowell, the entire arrangement has been confusing, said Nicolas Bosonetto, the city's transportation engineer.

It also would have continued what Bosonetto called a "huge divide," what many officials have said poses a challenge from anyone easily wanting to get from the Gallagher Terminal or Cambodia Town to downtown.

"We said, 'Wait a minute, can we do better?' " said Craig Thomas, the city's urban-renewal project manager.

On two sides of the overpass, mostly vacant parcels are expected to soon bring at least hundreds of thousands of square feet of new mixed-use space, making the timing for the road work critical in tying the projects together.

To the north, the Hamilton Canal District could see its first new construction later this year, with a $35 million-$40 million building with 144,000 square feet of space. The building, for Genesis HealthCare, would have a senior health- care center and commercial space.

Work could also start on a planned $200 million courthouse complex on the site later this year.

On the other side, the former Comfort Bedding and Furniture mill next to the Gallagher Terminal is being proposed for a major overhaul. More than 100 residential units and 50,000 square feet of commercial space is planned in a renovation and addition of a new six-story building.

The city realized that not all residents and visitors to those sites would realistically be able to drive and park there. That helped push the planning staff toward the latest plan. One option being considered includes lanes devoted to buses, for example.

"Every person walking, biking or taking a bus is one less person in a car driving," Bosonetto said.

Even for those driving, the proposed changes could make driving through the interchange much easier. Today, motorists can't go directly from Appleton Street to Chelmsford Street by driving straight -- they must pass around the rotary-like intersection. That would change under the plan the city is now considering.

Pedestrians will have better access, too, most notably with the first crosswalks planned for the intersection of Dutton, Fletcher and Thorndike streets.

One aspect of the Lord Overpass project has already begun: The Jackson Street extension has been created from Canal Street south toward the intersection of Dutton, Fletcher and Thorndike streets. A connection between the intersection and the new extended road won't be made until later in the project, however.

Filling in the overpass is expected to remain within the original $15 million the state Department of Transportation budgeted for the project. About 55,000 cubic yards of fill would be needed to raise Thorndike Street, costing about $1 million. On the other hand, a majority of the project cost before would have gone to replacing the two bridges over Thorndike Street, because the bridges have been found to be what Bosonetto said is "functionally obsolete."

Follow Grant Welker on Twitter and Tout @SunGrantWelker.

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